Minnesota's Joel Eriksson Ek reacts as Reilly Smith, left, and William Karlsson celebrate a Las Vegas goal during Game 3 of a Stanley Cup playoff series on Thursday in St. Paul. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
The Minnesota Wild gave its largest crowd since before the COVID-19 pandemic hit plenty to cheer about in the opening minutes of a Game 3 matchup with Las Vegas. on Thursday.
Ryan Hartman and Joel Erikkson Ek both scored in first 8 minutes, 30 second to give the Wild an early 2-0 lead to send the crowd of 4,500 at the Xcel Energy Center in St.